Last week I had tea with my forwarder in Dubai. He told me Riyadh-bound air cargo space is booked through the end of August. Guangzhou to Riyadh went from $2.5/kg in June to $2.8 now — up 12%. And this is just the appetizer.
Mid-August to early September is the mini peak for Middle East air freight. Why? White Friday restocking starts in October, and sea freight is already locked up by big sellers. So more cargo spills into air.
My take: rates climb another 15-20% before the end of September. If you book October space now, many carriers still honor old pricing. Don't wait.
Three practical moves. One: lock October-November space now, you'll save 20-25%. Two: if you ship small parcels via DHL/FedEx, ask about Saturday delivery — it runs 15% extra during peak. Three: for low-value cargo, there are charter flights in late August at 30% off belly space. Unstable schedule, but cheap.
Bottom line: the window is two to three weeks. Miss it, and your October logistics bill is double your competitor's. Worth 30 minutes of quotes, or paying double later?